South African opening batsman Dean Elgar said he is not sure if the Australian team’s new ‘docile’ attitude will last long.
The Australian team is recovering from the latest ball-tampering saga which led to a change in the leadership group of the national team.
Ever since the verdict about the three culprits came out, the Australian team now led by Tim Paine has adopted a new ‘nice-guy’ approach on the field.
The Aussies have always been known to be as a destructive force on the field of cricket and have always opted for the aggressive route.
They have hardly given the opposition an easy time on the field and have been verbally very aggressive on the field.
The change in the attitude of the players was on display during the fourth Test when the new captain started a new trend of shaking hands after the national anthem, just like its done in the football.
However, Dean Elgar doubts the Aussies can continue playing in this manner, and he believes this is the most ‘docile’ Test match he has played he has played against Australia.
“It’s odd. It’s definitely the most docile Test (against Australia) since I played Test cricket. I’m pretty sure it’s not going to last very long.”
Having played the most number of balls by any batsmen in the Test series said that he always enjoyed the verbal spats during a Test match against the Aussies.
“You’ve got to have a tenacious approach sometimes in Test cricket,” he said. “Nice guys come second. You’ve got to have an element of proper fight out there and sooner or later if your bowlers are clocking massive overs and they are biting their tongue they’re going to unleash something.
“There are a lot of frustrations in Test cricket, and a lot of frustrations happen in five days. It’s only human nature for guys to potentially say words to each other but that’s fine. If you’re not personal and you just have a competitive edge on the field, I’m extremely happy with that.”
Elgar also described his series-long battle against off-spinner as ‘Great’. Lyon dismissed Elgar four times in a hardly fought contest.
“It’s been a battle between two guys who are highly competitive. He’s had the edge over me, but he’s also bowled a helluva lot of balls at me as well, and I know I’ve really frustrated him in the last two days,” said Elgar.
“It’s been an awesome battle. He’s someone I’ll have a beer with after the game no doubt. We’ve done it in the past, and nothing is going to keep us from doing it now.”
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SA vs AUS 2018: Tim Paine Hails Australia’s Fighting Spirit